Reclusive gaming billionaire to set up neuroscience university – China’s latest business and technology news

Chen Tianqiao 陈天桥 is the founder of gaming company Shanda, which made him a billionaire at the age of 30. Bloomberg has published an interesting profile of him, which notes that he was “more prominent than Alibaba’s Jack Ma for much of the last decade — then he disappeared… dropping out of public view almost completely.” Chen now intends to set up a university in the U.S. based on what Bloomberg calls a concept that “is unusual to say the least: It will bring together academics in everything from neuroscience, biology and psychiatry to philosophy and divinity studies, and encourage them to work together.”

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‘Critical’ journalism in China, explained by Maria Repnikova

Outside observers typically view China’s media as utterly shackled by the bonds of censorship, unable to critique the government or speak truth to power in any meaningful sense. In part, this is true — censorship and other pressures do create “no-go” zones for journalists in China, as well as gray zones that sometimes rapidly turn […]

Michael Yamashita’s Photo of the Day

Rabbits in colorful cages for sale at a temple fair near Lianhuachi Park in Beijing in 2010 during the Spring Festival celebration. At these fairs, which are popular during this time of year, vendors sell food and sometimes pets.